CHOICE BETWEEN GOOD GOVERNMENT OR PARTY WHIPS, SAYS GREEN PARTY LEADER

CHOICE BETWEEN GOOD GOVERNMENT OR PARTY WHIPS, SAYS GREEN PARTY LEADER

CALGARY – Alberta’s provincial Green Party leader, Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes, says that her party will not whip its future MLA’s in the Alberta legislature. The issue has risen in prominence recently in the aftermath of a government MLA resigning in protest after being “whipped” by party officials.

In contrast, the Green Party has a practice of not imposing over-arching party discipline on elected members in provincial legislatures or the federal House of Commons. Chagnon-Greyeyes says not whipping elected members is ingrained in the DNA of the party, “ We are a party that respects the right of members and candidates to express differing opinions and beliefs in free and open debate. The Green Party is a party that empowers members and candidates, to live our shared values and at the same time better represent their home constituencies.”

The Green Party of Alberta contends the presence of party whips impairs the very concept, let alone the execution, of good government.

Chagnon-Greyeyes, who was elected Green Party leader in September of this year, believes that; “Good government is founded on prudent planning and rational, evidence-based decision-making in the public interest. To do this, government needs to engage with, and be responsive to, the concerns of its citizens. Green Party MLA’s in Alberta will never face a whipped vote. They will be free to put their conscience and their constituents first.”